Foreign Farmland Owners Get Digital Upgrade for Disclosures
Published Date: 5/30/2025
Notice
Summary
The Farm Service Agency is updating how foreign investors report their U.S. farm land ownership to make it easier and digital, thanks to a new law from 2023. If you’re a foreign person owning or changing farm land info, you’ll soon get a simpler online form, but some paper filings will still be needed. This change aims to save time and keep things clear without extra costs or delays.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
AFIDA moves to online reporting
If you are a foreign person reporting U.S. farm land ownership under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of 1978, the Farm Service Agency is developing a streamlined electronic submission and retention process as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The new online form is intended to be simpler and save time, and the agency says it aims to avoid extra costs or delays for filers.
Some AFIDA filings remain paper-only
Foreign persons who are amending existing AFIDA filings or filing land or leasehold dispositions will continue to use the existing paper form rather than the new online process. That means those specific transactions will not get the streamlined electronic option and will still require paper submission.
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Key Dates
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